Work Camp 1768 L
Work Camp 1768 L |
|
Note: The POWs shown below probably worked at 1768/L, but some of them may relate to nearby Work Camps.
Location: St Ulrich
Type of work: Farmwork
Man of Confidence: Unknown
Number of Men: approx. 10
Forename |
Surname |
Rank |
Unit |
POW |
Comments |
| Fred | Bundy | Sgmn | R Sigs | 4111 | Walney Island, Barrow, UK |
| Alexander ('Darkie') | Covich | Pte | 7143 | New Zealand | |
| Charles | Frame | Pte | RASC | 8233 | |
| Wilf | Isaacs | Gnr | RA | 5002 | |
| Frank ('Johnny') | Johnson | Sgmn | R Sigs | 4112 | |
| Colin Arthur | Jones | Smn | RN | 4677 | HMS Gloucester |
| Max ('Red') | Larsen | Gnr | 4108 | New Zealand | |
| Bill ('Duce') | Padgett | Rfmn | Rifle Bde | 5991 | |
| Charley ('Smudge') | Smith | Pte | RM | 6267 | |
| Ted ('Slick') | Stanger | Dvr | RASC | 6811 | |
| Jack ('Doc') | Taylor |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Group 5 | Taylor & Larsen | Fred & Johnny | Fred & Johnny |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Ted Stanger | Charley Smith | Fred Bundy | |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Frank Johnson | Charley Smith | Fred Bundy | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Alexander Covich | Isaacs & Frame | Bill Padgett | Jack Tylor |
 |
 |
||
| Local farm boys | Local children | ||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Charley Smith |
The following account is part of part of a school project created by Fred Bundy's grandsons from his own account.
Following capture at Kalamata, Fred, along with Frank 'Johnny' Johnson ended up at Stalag 18B at Marburg.
Eventually ten of the prisoners including Fred and Johnny were moved out to work and live on farms, five of them from New Zealand and the other five from England. They all got on extremely well and stayed together for the remaining years of their captivity, sharing everything including their parcels from home.
This stay lasted nine months ending in a move to the nearest village where they each worked on separate farms. Fred was unguarded by this time but had no ambitions of running away which would have resulted in his death if captured.
The people on this farm treated him well and fed him as much as they could. Food was obviously scarce as they had to provide most of what they had to the Germans. All ten men stayed on their farms for twelve months and then had to walk fifteen miles through thick snow to yet another, much larger farm.
This new farm was a terrible place with much stricter guards but luckily they soon moved on for another two miles to join twenty new prisoners captured in Italy. Fred worked on two farms in the village, the first being filthy with awful food and the second became his home for the rest of his time as a prisoner of war.
The prisoners began to sense that the war was nearly over and one morning they were told to pack up and move on. They marched to a nearby town along with hundreds of men and then told to hike. Fred was on the move again, this time for six weeks, travelling about 20 miles a day and sleeping in farm lofts.
They had little food other than what they could scrounge and lived mainly on dandelion roots and boiled nettles. As they neared their destination a group of high ranking officers from Colditz passed by under heavy guard and shouted to confirm that the war was indeed almost over.
They arrived at Markt Pongau and thousands of men were herded together in cramped conditions, but instead of being sent on they were left unguarded as, amazingly, the guards had all left. There was no formal release and no resistance from the guards and at last, after four years and one month in captivity, Fred was a free man again.
(Thanks to Gary Bundy (son of Fred Bundy) and Paul Cavanagh for providing the details.)
